Category: Seaweed for Humanity

Seaweed for Humanity is a not for profit foundation and provides support to communities throughout Philippines. We focus on carbon neutral products for our time. Seaweed can reduce carbon, grow without fresh water, no artificial fertilizers, provide employment to local fisherfolk.

Seaweed for Humanity

Seaweed Stops Cows burping Methane

Post author By Hugh Butler
Post date September 28, 2021

Marine Algae started its journey on growing seaweed – as we could see that seaweed stops methane from cows burping, based on work at James Cook University and the CSIRO. It this could be used, then with 1.3 billion ruminants in the world, it needed to be grown at scale.

Marine Algae changed its focus to plant biostimulant to improve growing crops, introduced human quality food to reduce inflammation such as joint pain and surprise, reduce period pain.

Why the Focus on Ruminant (mostly cows) Methane Reduction

Emissions:

Agriculture is the third largest contributor to global emissions (4.7billion tonnes CO₂ per annum)
California has already legislated 40% reduction in methane from agriculture by 2030, with voluntary reductions by 2024. A carbon price already exists.
Governments around the world are looking for reductions in greenhouse gases from this sector.
Five years ago NZ had public demonstrations against the “fart tax” but now accept they need 10 to 22% reductions by 2050 to meet Paris Accord Goals.

Feeding The World

How does the World feed itself in the 21st Century?
Meat is very energy intensive. What alternatives are there?

seaweed reduces emissions — Cows have huge methane emissions and seaweeds stops methane production.

seaweed stops cows burping methane and agriculture is high emissions — Ruminants are a major source of emissions

In 2014, Dr. Rob Kinley at James Cook University and others inc CSIRO profiled a number of native Australian seaweeds for their potential to reduce methane emissions when utilized as a feed additive for livestock. Asparagopsis taxiformis outperformed all others with 1-2% feed inclusion resulted in 99% reduction of methane in an in vitro model.

Continued research at UC Davis, Penn State, and CSIRO have shown that the methane reductions hold up in vivo and using the supplement does not pose any adverse effects on animal health, milk, or flesh. (There are some contra trials, hotly disputed) Trials are showing that 0.5% inclusion into cattle’s daily diet could result in a sustained 80% methane reduction — a true sweet spot for the industry.

IP Holders included Rob,Kinley, USC Prof Nick Paul, Rocky De Nys. Ian Tuart had worked for Marine Algae, and he had been a research assistant with the group and collected wild harvest. Leonda Mata was with the same team at JCU and is now with Greener Grazing. Nick Paul is focused on Asparogosis for fish food.

Species

A taxiformis is a tropical species. We looked at it and decided the temperate species A armata that grows in NZ and southern Australia has hooks on it and might be a better species in the life cycle.

Which Companies are Focused on Seaweed

The following are some of the startup businesses focused on methane reductions. There are 2 problems

Closing the lifecycle of the species (the reproductive cycle)
Growing at scale

Sea Forest

https://www.seaforest.com.au/
Stephen Turner and Sam Elsom initially were going to buy a northern NSW fish land farm, but ultimately raised some money and headed south to Tasmania. They grow it in races on land and getting money to expand to grow onshore. They hired Rocky van Nys ex JCU seaweed leader and co inventor, and also a long time seaweed specialist Craig Sanderson
They have hooked into getting sustainable wool as first product off the rank but making inroads into partnerships.

CH4 Global

https://www.ch4global.com/
Steve Mellum is ex Silicon Valley, has raised money from global – spoken with Steve and with Rowena Pullen (ex Proctor Gamble and Pfizer). They have a heavy-hitting board and advisors and they have raised a million dollars , based out of Adelaide.

Most recently they raised $US13M as a series A see this funding PR release
They worked successfully and got the Cawthorne Institute Nelson NZ and NZ Govt announced by Jacinda Adern with money $0.25m R&D to overcome lifecycle issues with A armata and recently said they had cracked the secret methodology. Work in NZ is via National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
CH4 Global has estimated that the aquaculture of Asparagopsis could be worth more than NZ$500 million to seaweed farmers in NZ and Australia within seven years, and more than NZ$1 billion by 2030. Closing the lifecycle makes this figure much more realistic.

Adam Main is their key seaweed technologist and he says “have been granted over 800 hectares of water space in addition to the hectares we will access through our partnerships with Narungga Nation and with existing finfish and shellfish aquaculture operations” on Adelaide Peninsula

Symbrosia

www.symbriosia.co
Partnered USDA, MIT, Hatch, CEO Alexia Akbay Akbay, a chemist by training, co-founded Symbrosia about two and a half years ago with Jonathan Simonds out of an MIT program, and has got USDA funding and collecting A taxiformis around the Hawaii Islands.

Blue Ocean Barns

https://www.blueoceanbarns.com

Joan Salwen is the CEO of Blue Ocean Barns. She grew up in rural Iowa in the long shadow of her family’s 100-acre farm where she harvested cherries, preserved fresh sweet corn and walked her Grandpa King’s bean fields, weeding by hand. Had 20 years as a Managing Director at Accenture, Joan managed $50M+ client relationships and led the firm’s Atlanta practice for organization and change strategy. In 2003, she helped found Atlanta Girls’ School, where she served as a teacher and Head of School. In 2015, Joan transitioned to Stanford, where she built a team that energized university, market and government interest in a particular red seaweed as a solution to climate change. She founded Elm Innovations, a non-profit platform for exploring the potential of the seaweed-livestock connection and ultimately co-founded the commercial engine for it, Blue Ocean Barns.
A climate tech booter called Elemental Excelerator put in $100k recently (Forbes)

Greener Grazing

https://www.greenergrazing.org/

Josh Goldman is CEO from Massachusetts-based Australis Aquaculture. He has had a barramundi farm in ocean waters off Van Phong Bay, Vietnam and sells Clean Harvest Barramundi globally.
For the past 4 years, they have been trying to get up Asparogopsis to seed onto ropes. They have recently raised funds. Dr Leonado Mata from Portugal is on his team, and the research is joint between Portugal and Vietnam.
See https://www.greenergrazing.org/blog/2021/6/23/project-update-josh-goldman-video-tour

Greener Grazing was previously known as Australis Aquaculture / The Better Fish.

Most recently, Greener Grazing and Horimare have announced a new collaboration. The Netherlands-based company Hortimare advises, supports, and collaborates with seaweed farmers to help them achieve the scale needed to make seaweed cultivation globally competitive. The collaboration between Greener Grazing and Hortimare adds resources and expertise in breeding and hatchery operations to make ocean-based AT cultivation a reality. Dr. Phil Kerrison who trained at SAMS (Scotland Marine) has been hired to assist in the project.

https://www.greenergrazing.org/blog/2021/10/12/greener-grazing-hortimare-partnership

Volta Greentech

https://www.voltagreentech.com/

Fredrik Akerman is the CEO. Volta Greentech is developing an automated land-based seaweed factory on the Swedish West Coast. They have set up a lab and was in early stages of collaboration with seaweed producers in the Philippines but not sure where that has progressed.
See https://youtu.be/77KozPbACI0

Seaweed stops methane, but are there other Techniques?

There are others who have started. There are other solutions such as lemon grass. Other seaweed species have some effect.

DSM – The Netherlands

https://www.dsm.com/corporate/markets/animal-feed/minimizing-methane-from-cattle.html
DSM’s “clean cow” programme director Mark van Nieuwland said the company hoped to introduce trials of the compound called Bovaer® which is a 3-nitrooxypropanol (3NOP) in two stages: firstly to intensive dairy farms, and later to extensive pastoral-based farms. They face a regulatory hurdle of product in the food chain. (Link to Stuff.co.nz Article)

Feeding Seaweed to Cows Update

In 2017, Canadian cattle farmers in Alberta started slipping a special ingredient into their animals’ feed. The cows remained oblivious – their forage tasted no different – but by munching on, they had been enlisted into the fight against the climate crisis.

The feed, called Bovaer, contained 3-NOP, an organic compound that inhibits cows’ methane production. Farmers ultimately fed the enriched fodder to 15,000 animals and collectively cut their methane emissions by 30% on average and up to 80%. In September, the ingredient was approved for use in Brazil, the world’s second-largest producer of beef. (From The Guardian Emma Bryce 30-Sept-2021)

Rather than stopping methane at source, others want to catch it before it’s released. UK company Zelp has created a mask that it says can neutralize about 50% of methane as cows belch it out. It’s been backed by the food giant Cargill, which expects to start distributing the masks to European dairy farmers in 2022.

Asparagopsis, a red seaweed, in the Canary Islands. — Asparagopsis – seaweed

Fodder Box

Ella Goddin’s FodderBox is essentially a ‘field in a box.’ It’s the equivalent of a 40-acre field in a 40’ container, with zero water pollution, air pollution, herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides. Reduction of land area and is more than cost competitive than growing fodder crops, and they are working with Asparagopsis as well. See this (PR and their website https://fooderbox.ie)

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Seaweed for Humanity

Seaweed Farm Photos

Post author By Hugh Butler
Post date September 24, 2021

Natural organic seaweed does not happen automatically, as seaweed is a global industry and grown in a whole range of ocean environments. Not all areas are the same. We hear and see reports in the media that oceans are full of microplastics or pollution. (National Geographic) We have chose to grow our Pacific SeaMoss^TM in an area that is low in urban and rural runoff, and we regularly monitor the ocean water, and have implemented a range of practices to ensure the seaweed is organic and monitored.

Gallery of Seaweed Farm Photos

biosea health seaweed for health — Seaweed harvested

Organically Certified

The seaweed has been certified by OCCP, the Philippine National Organic Certification Authority and is regularly reinspected to ensure that the seaweed is pure, natural organic seaweed.

organic natural seaweed — Certified organic

Why Is there an Allergy Warning?

Seaweed farms create an environment where other fish come to live. With shelter from the open water, the ecology changes. Over the growing cycle, small fish give rise to larger fish who come to feed on them. And molluscs shellfish and sea creatures attach to the seaweed. (Seafood allergies and Seaweed)

Tags health benefits of seaweed, Pacific Seamoss

Biosea Health Health Benefits Heart Health Seaweed for Humanity

Boost Immunity with Seaweed

Post author By Lea Sterling
Post date February 29, 2020

boost immunity naturally with seaweed Pacific Seamoss

The World Health Organization will soon declare a pandemic. Countries are preparing for the pandemic. Boost immunity with seaweed.

In our hugely complex global moment of change in transportation, economies, energy, we have an exogenous shock. A massive, tiny bundle of protein, the troublesome 120nm-diameter spiky virus. In its shell, is a wound-up pair of DNA strands, carrying just eight kilobytes of genetic code. It begins:

attaaaggtt tataccttcc caggtaacaa accaaccaac

Germs have changed the course of history in the past. Zoonotic transplants from crowded European towns, where humans lived cheek-by-jowl with their animals, were a powerful ally to the Spanish during the genocidal colonisation of South America. Bill Gates calls this latest a “once-in-a-century” pandemic.

What makes this virus different from seasonal flu is how easily it spreads. Sheer numbers of people infected. Nursing homes, hospitals will be overwhelmed. There is every chance that both you and I will come down with the disease. A broad guess is that 25-70% of the population of any infected country may catch the disease.

Young – the effects from disease are mild.
Elderly have a one chance in six of dying
Middle aged? The chances are less.
If “health compromised” i.e. have high blood pressure or diabetes your chances of dying have more than doubled

Check out the graphs from WHO below.

Importantly, if you suffer from other medical conditions, like hypertension or diabetes, then you can make some small but important changes.

Boost Immunity with seaweed

Now is the time to prepare. Prepare your body with a boost to your immunity. And prepare for some interruption as the government imposes the only thing it can at this stage which is movement control. So prepare to be at your home for a couple of weeks, with children and not being able to go to work.

Boost Immunity and Eat Seaweed

What can you do to boost your immunity to a virus? Taking seaweed is the quickest and easiest option. Stop smoking. Eat healthy

1. If you are over 70

Improve your heart health with seaweed.[2]
Seaweed will improve liver function for faster absorption of medications.[3]
Seaweed is high in Potassium, which stabilizes heart rhythm.[4]
Potassium in seaweed also improves muscle function, making breathing easier.[4, 5]

2. If you are over 45

Improve your diabetes quickly with seaweed. Seaweed improves glucose tolerance.[3]
Drop your high blood pressure quickly with seaweed. Clinical trials in both humans and animal models show seaweed reduces hypertension effectively.[2]
Seaweed reduces inflammation in the heart, liver, and pancreas, freeing up immune cells for fighting infections. [3]

3. For everyone

Boost immunity. Seaweed is full of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants from seaweed.[6]
Seaweed will improve liver function for better blood filtration and nutrient availability.[3]
Increase energy levels and general health from better thyroid function with healthy iodine and tyrosine in seaweed.[7]
Improve gut health and gut immunity with the prebiotic effects of seaweed.[3]Some cases of the recent pandemic have also caused gastrointestinal problems.
Prepare your gut. By eating seaweed, you will boost immunity with seaweed. Who knows?

OVER 60? ONE IN 10 DYING RISK

NOT WELL – TIME FOR SEAWEED

Boost Immunity naturally with Seaweed Pacific Seamoss with antiviral properties

Prepare your home

1 Emergency Plan

Make sure you have an emergency plan in place.
Know what to do BEFORE the need arises.
Check out The Red Cross Website can help but also check your Local Government and State Health Departments for more information.

2 Medications

Make sure you have 14 days of medications available for you, your family, and pets.
You may need to be in-home quarantine for that long.

3 Food and Household Supplies

Gradually build up supplies of canned and frozen goods
High use items such as toilet paper, tissues.

Experience backed by Science

Post author By Hugh Butler
Post date October 25, 2019

Experience is backed by science - eat Pacific Seamoss for health

Is consumer experience backed by science? What we are looking for is that science provides validation for personal experiences. Seaweed improves health. Scientists know why your blood pressure improves by 15mm Hg. Long term science backs up personal health improvement. However, one cannot make any health claim. Because the regulatory industry was established for artificial drugs and medicines, and functional foods struggle for registration and have to be tested in human and animal clinical trials.

There are some clinical trials on humans. There are thousands of peer reviewed publications on the health improvements in vitro, in animals and for limited studies, humans. Google Search for “seaweed functional food” returns 3.5 million hits.

Is Experience Backed By Science?

Discussion and peer reviewed publications with

Professor Lindsay Brown University of Southern Queensland (been doing research for 20 years on superfoods)
Professor Jane Teas Southern Carolina University
Dr Jan Villasend – Aarhus University Hospital in clinical research arthritis in Denmark
Dr Monique Mulder Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Our “Pacific Seamoss” red seaweed is 35% sulfated polysaccharide and is pretty indigestible, and passes through the stomach into the intestines. The microbiome get busy on it and composition changes and protects the lining. As well as the extra fibre, and normalisation of the bacteria, some of the other 1000 compounds in the seaweed get absorbed. Some of the compounds have been identified and implicated in the beneficial effects. (eg fucoidan) but there are many unknowns on the mechanism.

Some brown seaweeds (Kelp, Dulce) have an issue with iodine levels too high so you cannot eat the 5+ grams per day of seaweed. The five grams is a daily serve of veges.
Is there a major difference between seaweeds. Possibly if you refine them. But if you have them whole there may not be due to the very complicated interactions.

Metabolic Syndrome Clinical Trial with Humans – 2013

Prof Jane Teas. Did a human double blind clinical trial on 40 overweight volunteers who were already on blood pressure tablets and statins. They all had metabolic syndrome so they all had 2 of those symptoms – Hypertension, weight, high cholesterol and sugar intolerance. They were given 5gm of seaweed, between 4 and 8 gm depending on the treatments.

Significant Outcome. Blood pressure was down 10mm Hg. Patients lost on average 3 kg. There was a reduction in type 2 diabetes. Their cholesterol went down by 2 whole points. The attached paper has more details.

Animal Studies Obesity Fats Rats made Thin 2017

Professor Lindsay Brown from University of Southern Queensland / UQ has been doing functional food research for 15 years on animals. They did do some human trials on Queen Garnet Plums through Univ Victoria with Nutrafruit.com.au. Over his research spanning 2 decades and multiple products, including purple fruits (with anthrocyanin), purple carrots, purple plums, purple corn and also on linseed, and more recently on seaweed with various species the results are the same.

Improvement of gut microbiome
Reduction or elimination of fatty liver
Bone density increase
Blood pressure reduction
Weight loss reduction
Cartilage increase .

What is interesting that essentially fatty liver disease is gone, heart fibrous tissue gone, cholesterol down and good DNA data from the gut microbiome returning to normal.

Prof Brown’s conclusion is that there is no real difference between the whole food and if you try to split out the active compounds. They had done the work for the purple plum and the outcomes were the same for the whole food versus the identified other compounds.

Some of his work has been documented in the media.

Diabetes

Prof Brown’s work with rats over the past 15 years shows all of these conditions improve with the super food. Be it purple carrots, linseed, Purple Garnet Plums, Purple Corn, Achacha (Garcinia humalis) Mangostem, Seaweed. As consumers start to eat seaweed daily then it is clear that consumer experience backed by science, and the challenge is to undertake more science on humans that continue to do work on animal studies.

Fatty Liver and Kidney Disease

In the animal studies Lindsay showed reversal of metabolic syndrome and that fatty liver disappear and kidney function returns.

Breast Cancer – Humans 2013

A short single blind trial by Jane Teas in 2013. Only 16 people, all breast cancer survivors and only for 12 weeks. 4 weeks placebo, 4 weeks 5 gm Unadaria (a brown). The Creatinine levels halved. Creatinine is a marker of inflammation and more importantly implicated in breast cancer. . She was looking to explain why Japanese women have 1/10 breast cancer rates of those in USA

“uPAR is higher among postmenopausal women generally, and for BC patients, it is associated with unfavorable BC prognosis. By lowering uPAR, dietary seaweed may help explain lower BC incidence and mortality among postmenopausal women in Japan. “

There is other animal and invitro studies and it shows that in mice the oestrogen was stripped out. See this blog

Dementia 2019

Prof Brown says animal studies in dementia do not translate well into humans and that 1 drug out of 200 is the track record to date. But Dr Monique Mulder with Sargassum (brown) and others published in Nature in March 2019 that Dietary Sargassum fusiforme improves memory and reduces amyloid plaque load in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model. The thing seems to be multi-modal in that it provides plant sterols to the brain crossing the blood brain barrier, and stops amyloid plaques and tangles. And reverses it in mice. They are moving from animals to humans in their trials.

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Bowel Inflammation

Dr Jan Villadsen got given some seaweed/rapeseed/fermented mix from FermBiotics.com from his University friend Dr Belinda Bjerre who is a Project Diretor on some of the EU seaweed research programs. The mix was to developed to eliminate use of zinc oxide and antibiotics in pig production. The pig studies show equivalence or better than conventional Zn+antibiotic treatments. Note: zinc is banned in EU animal feed from 2022. A long term rheumatic arthritis (RA) sufferer, Dr Villadsen’s C-Reactive Protein goes to zero in 17 days. Patent. Publications. He and colleagues at Aarhaus are now doing a clinical trial with 200 patients on IBS and RA .

Osteo Athritis

We don’t know exactly which of the 100 different types of arthritis seaweed will work on. There is consistent strong anecdotal evidence. There is in vitro studies. A Nature publication from Prof Xiao and Prof Brown [6] demonstrated when they took the rats from Browns metabolic studies and they identified collagen and connective growth recovery in the rats. This is similar to the osteoarthritis work with extracted fucoidan extracts from brown seaweed.

Conclusion

Functional foods can provide health benefits by reducing the risk of chronic diseases and enhancing the ability to manage chronic diseases, and improving the quality of life. This gives seaweed great potential as a supplement in functional food or for the extraction of compounds.

Our company has a challenge to accelerate the clinical trials and register the benefits to be able to make health claims. Pacific Seamoss is just food. But make your own judgement. No one is stopping you eat food. Even nail growth! We have people where their nails grow more and this is a prime experience backed by science over 11 years ago.

References

[1] Wanyonyi, S; du Preez, R; Brown, L; Paul, N; Panchal, S 2017 Kappaphycus alvarezii as a Food Supplement Prevents Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Rats. Nutrients (9) 11 DOI:10.3390/nu9111261 (Click for Abstract) (Click to download full paper)

[2] Teas, J et al 2009 Could dietary seaweed reverse the metabolic syndrome? Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 18 (2) 145-157 (Click for Abstract) (Click to download full paper)

[3] Teas, J et al 2013 The consumption of seaweed as a protective factor in the etiology of breast cancer: proof of principle. J Appl Phycol 25 771-779 DOI:10.1007/s10811-012-9931-0 (Click for Abstract) (Click to download full paper)

[4] Bogie, J et al (Including Monique Mulder) 2019 Dietary Sargassum fusiforme improves memory and reduces amyloid plaque load in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model. Scientific Reports 9 (1) DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-41399-4 (Click for Abstract) (Click to download full paper)

[5] Villasend J; Silkeborg R 2019 Clinical trial: Investigation of macroalgae as a synbiotic adjuvant in chronic inflammatory diseases. Seagriculture19 Belgium presentation (Click to download presentation)

[6] Sekar, S., Shafie, S., Prasadam, I. et al. Saturated fatty acids induce development of both metabolic syndrome and osteoarthritis in rats. Sci Rep 7, 46457 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46457

Media

https://www.abc.net.au/local/archives/landline/content/2016/s4419411.htm
https://www.abc.net.au/local/archives/landline/content/2015/s4180101.htm
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-15/sleeping-giant:-linseeds-health-properties-could/8711970

Tags cancer fighting properties, clinical evidence, improve heart health

Seaweed for Humanity

Seaweed Aquaculture for Food and Fuels

Post author By Hugh Butler
Post date September 16, 2019

Seaweed Aquaculture Focus of Research

Around the globe – from the European Union, UK, USA, Australia China, Philippines governments and industry are looking to expand growing seaweed and use the products in new and innovative ways.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYRl8Qy7f-k&feature=youtu.be

Seaweed Aquaculture Focus of Research In USA

The USA Department of Energy has the Mariner Program of research. They have focused their efforts on modelling, biofuel and growing systems.. See their program page here

SEEKER VIDEO – CHANGING MEAT TO SEAWEED

Seaweed – a product for humanity

PURCHASE NOW

Tags biofuel, energy, Pacific Seamoss, seaweed

Health Benefits Seaweed for Humanity

Amazon Rainforest Vanishing Faster Than Ever

Post author By Hugh Butler
Post date September 13, 2019

The Amazon rainforest is vanishing faster than ever due to wildfires and needless destruction

Climate help may come from An Unexpected Place: Underwater.

Wildfires causing deforestation

Global warming impacts all life on Earth, gradually heating the planet and threatening the delicate balance. Rainforests and other carbon sinks scrub the air removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and providing oxygen. Unfortunately, deforestation is taking a heavy toll on the world’s largest forest. The Amazon rainforest is vanishing faster than ever and, with the recent fires, attention has once again focused on building carbon emissions.

Seaweed has photosynthesis

Seaweed, a form of algae, grows in both fresh and salt waters all over the world [1]. In the same way that trees clean the air through photosynthesis, seaweed “forests” support marine life by filtering carbon dioxide from the water and producing oxygen. A new look into this unlikely environmental hero shows that there is potential for sea vegetables to offset terrestrial carbon emissions [1].

Seaweed as effective as Amazon Rainforest as a carbon sink

Marine scientist Halley Froelhich, of the University of California, is the lead author of a new study. According to the recently published paper, industrial-sized farms would grow and harvest seaweeds which would then be sunk, along with the captured C02, into the deep ocean. There, the carbon dioxide would be trapped for hundreds, even thousands, of years [1].

Seaweed and aquaculture

According to Froelhich’s study, 18.5 million square miles of ocean suitable for seaweed cultivation [1]. (This number does not include freshwater varieties of macroalgae.) The scientists behind the study propose that farming 0.001 percent of the world’s seaweed-growing waters could offset the entire carbon emissions of the rapidly growing global aquaculture industry. For a scaled example, farming seaweed in 3.8 percent of federally controlled waters off the coast of California could offset the carbon emissions of the state’s multi-billion-dollar (terrestrial) agriculture industry [1].

With half the world’s seafood being supplied through aquaculture, countering the industry’s carbon emissions could prove a huge relief both environmentally and economically. Seaweed farms may prove a viable business model for socio-economically troubled coastal communities [2]. Many societies that traditionally rely on fishing face the real possibility of depleting local marine life. Lessening dependence on fishing would in turn decrease concerns of overfishing [3] and may have the added benefit of attracting marine life [2]. Researchers have found that, in California alone, kelp forests are home to over 800 species of marine life [2].

A profitable commercial crop, seaweed is widely used in beauty products, medicines, and food for humans, livestock and fish [1]. Currently, China is the industry leader in kelp farming, having produced more than seven million metric tons in 2015 [2]. Kelp, a variety of macroalgae found in cold coastal waters, grows quickly and prolifically in its natural environment. These underwater forests require no fertilization as they pull carbon dioxide from the water, as well as excess nitrogen and phosphorus [2].

Other uses for seaweed

The harvested materials could be converted into livestock feed, which research has shown can reduce methane emissions from grazing cattle by up to 70 percent. Seaweed can also be converted into biofuel or used as a natural fertilizer, replacing petroleum-based products [1]. All that is needed now, Duarte states, is to find a way for seaweed production to meet the demand.

References

[1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/forests-of-seaweed-can-help-climate-change-without-fire/

[2] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/11/explore-sustainability-kelp-farming-seaweed/

[3] https://www.ecomagazine.com/news/regulation/overfishing-is-a-huge-problem-here-s-what-you-need-to-know

Seaweed And The Environment

Post author By Hugh Butler
Post date August 24, 2019

Seaweed benefits enviroment - find out how Pacific Sea Moss benefits

Seaweed and the Environment

Watch these 2 videos from Prof Tim Flannery – passionate about climate change and believes a pathway forward is to grow seaweed on a large scale

For Food
For Biofuel
For packaging
For human health
For animal health

PROF TIM FLANNERY TALKS SEAWEED AND ENVIRONMENT

CAN SEAWEED SAVE THE WORLD ABC 2017

Seaweed – the smart organic medicinal food for boosting your immunity

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Tags seaweed as food, seaweed health benefits

Biosea Health Health Benefits Seaweed for Humanity

Health Benefits of Seaweed. 8 things you should know.

Post author By Hugh
Post date August 2, 2019

Health Benefits of Seaweed

Seaweed, or “sea vegetables”, are a type of sea algae that can be found growing along shorelines around the world. Generally, seaweed can be classified by color – red, green and brown. Biosea Health grows and harvests Pacific Sea Moss© or Kappaphycus alvarezii in pristine Pacific waters off the SouthEast Coast of the Philippines. Enjoy the health benefits of seaweed.

People are familiar with the dried, processed varieties commonly used in the making of salads, soups and sushi. However, they may not know this aquatic plant has a number of edible species, each with their own nutritional and health benefits.

Eastern cultures have acknowledged seaweed as a sustainable and nutrient rich food source for thousands of years. Backed by modern science, there is a growing movement to include seaweed in the Western diet in order to take advantage of the many health benefits.

1. Potential Cancer-Fighting Properties

Seaweed is a natural source of fucoxanthin. A carotenoid, a class of biological pigment that includes beta-carotene. Fucoxanthin is being actively researched for its many health properties. Brown seaweeds have more than red seaweeds but all contain some.

health benefits of seaweed - helping with cancer

Perhaps the most exciting discovery about this compound is its anti-cancerous properties. Cancer is characterized by the growth of abnormal cells and there are more than 100 cancerous diseases. Fucoxanthin can disrupt the development of cancerous cells helping to slow the advance of the disease.

Many of the studies on fucoxanthin’s effects on cancer, focus on animal subjects. Scientists are excited by the prospect of developing cancer fighting medications from seaweeds for humans.

2. Improved Heart Health and Blood Pressure Maintenance

According to the World Health Organization more than 1.13 billion people suffer from high blood pressure (hypertension) and less than 1 in 5 have the condition under control. Hypertension forces the cardiovascular system to work harder, creating pressure within the heart and arteries that can reach dangerous levels.

Symptoms of high blood pressure can be easily ignored unless diagnosed by a medical professional. Known as “the silent killer”, it can cause dizziness, headaches, nose bleeds, vision changes, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting depending on the severity of the condition. Left uncontrolled, hypertension can lead to strokes, seizures, heart attacks, irregular heart rhythm, kidney damage, and blocked arteries, all of which can result in death.

3. Full of Essential Minerals

Seaweed contains a number of essential minerals including potassium, copper, calcium, zinc, magnesium, and sodium. These minerals, as part of a healthy diet help to lower the risk of both high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. The ingestion of seaweed has been shown to improve the physical structure of the heart in rats.

Potassium especially has been recommended as an important element in helping to improve cardiovascular health. There are many ways to ingest the necessary amounts of potassium, however, 18 g of dried seaweed contains approximately the same amount of potassium as 700 g of spinach. More detail is provided in our Trace Elements in Seaweed analysis for Pacific Seamoss

4. Full of Vitamins

The actual level of vitamins has been poorly studied but check out our vitamin Seaweed is Full of Vitaminsanalysis to see that depending on how the seaweed is harvested, and species may be 30% of your daily requirements of Vitamin B’s or Vitamin D’s

5. Improves Liver Function and Structure

Primarily the liver filters blood coming from the digestive tract, metabolizes drugs and detoxifies chemicals. This important organ also produces proteins that aid in blood clotting.

Compromised liver function can result in a buildup of blood impurities. Chemicals, minerals, proteins, and nutrients that would normally be distributed through the body or filtered out as waste, instead of failing to reach their proper destinations. Sadly, many liver disorders and diseases do not present with outward symptoms until they have progressed further.

The fiber and nutrients contained in seaweed appear to help purify the digestive tract and improve cardiovascular health, which benefits the liver. Fucoxanthin has also been shown to improve the structure of the liver, as well as the heart.

6. A Natural Way to Promote Thyroid Health

Seaweed contains a rich source of iodine which is necessary for thyroid health. The thyroid produces hormones which help to regulate many of the body’s metabolic functions, such as brain development, temperature, heart rate, cholesterol, menstrual cycles, and breathing.

Seasoned seaweed salad and fresh herbs. Top view. Table setting

A common source of iodine in the Western diet is iodized table salt. For those watching their sodium intake, even small amounts of added salt can be detrimental. Instead, the ingestion of seaweed can provide most, if not all, of the recommended daily intake. However, too much seaweed can lead to an over-saturation of iodine, so moderation is encouraged.

7. Supports Digestive Health and Regularity

In 2008 the recommended daily intake of fiber was 25g for females and 38g for males. As little as 8g of seaweed a day could provide 12.5% of this need. Increased fiber helps the body to flush out toxins and waste, including excess fats.

Prebiotics are food for the microflora inside the human digestive tract. These foods are often high in fiber, making seaweed an optimal source. Probiotics are foods that contain live microorganisms that maintain or improve microflora. Though research is still exploring the benefits of prebiotics, healthy adults can safely add this natural digestive aid to their diet.

Depending on amount consumed, seaweed is very high in soluble and insoluble fibre. Details are on the label

8. Assists in Controlling Hunger Which Can Aid in Weight Loss

Obesity is a major health concern around the world, especially in industrialized nations. Maintaining a balanced BMI amongst all of life’s other responsibilities can be a challenge for even the most dedicated.

Besides being beneficial to your digestive tract, fiber is a great way to stave off hunger. Fiber lacks calories while also filling the stomach and providing nutrients. Seaweed, already a low-calorie food, is also high in soluble fiber (36.4%) and other nutrients. In addition, the fucoxanthin in seaweed has been shown to aid in weight loss in rats who had been fed a high-calorie diet compared.

Additional Health Benefits of Seaweed

These additional health benefits have been shown in both animal and human studies.

9. Aids in Controlling Blood Sugar and may reduce risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Seaweed’s high fiber composition, nutritional content, and prebiotic properties may promote digestive, liver, thyroid and cardiovascular health. Working in concert, these systems can foster healthy insulin production and blood sugar levels. Enjoy the health benefits of seaweed.

Lifestyle factors, such as diet, exercise and genetic predisposition, can affect any of these systems singularly or collectively. Drug reactions, injury, and physical changes to the body such as pregnancy or cancer can also affect how the body processes glucose and produces insulin.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the cells become resistant to insulin and the pancreas is unable to overcome this resistance. Insulin then needs to be introduced into the body to balance glucose levels in the blood. Lifestyle and diet changes can assist the body in stabilizing glucose to insulin levels.

Research has shown that the fucoxanthin lowered the blood glucose, plasma insulin, and water intake in diabetic mice. One human-trial study reported a decrease in body weight that may have been related to the presence of fucoxanthin. The potential benefits for diabetics is high and could prove to help those not affected by the disease to lessen their susceptibility.

10 Boosts the Immune System and Anti-Aging

The not so humble “sea vegetables” is a nutrient-dense part of the average diet in Japan, Korea and China – nations which have been the focus of many recent health studies. It has long been noted by science and the healthcare community that these cultures have extended longevity and overall health when compared to the West.

Seaweed is full of antioxidants which may protect cells from internal and external free radicals. The cancer fighting properties of fucoxanthin may also assist the body in fighting signs of aging created by irregular cell development. These products may have also, anti-inflammatory properties. Skin care products and healthcare techniques which use seaweeds can be found throughout Asia and are steadily making their way around the world.

11. Improves brain function

Check out our post on how seaweed is being studied for improved brain function and reduction in dementia.

12. Reduces Hangovers

There is good evidence seaweed assists in reducing hangovers

We make no medical claims. But we all understand seaweed is healthy. What you may not know is that peer reviewed scientific papers have shown in countless studies on humans, animals and in test tubes that seaweed is healthy. Biosea Health provides seaweed as a simple way to consume food. Simply good healthy food.